This song is 700 years old. Ameer Khusro wrote it for his teacher sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya,
Laksh Maheshwari Narrates The 700-year Old Story Behind The Song ‘Sakal Ban’
Laksh Maheshwai (@single.handedly), a social media content creator recently took to his Instagram to narrate the 700 years old story behind the song written by “Amir Khusro” called ‘Sakal Ban’, which was used in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Heeramandi”.
The Sakal Ban song finds its roots back in the 12th-13th Century, when Amir Khusro, a Sufi singer adorned this song with a soulful story. “Once, on the occasion of Basant Panchami, some people were going to the temple with flowers in their palms and wearing yellow clothes. When Amir Khusro asked them the reason behind the activity, they explained that on this day, to please the deity they worship, they offer mustard flowers at their feet. Khusro asked for a bouquet himself and arrived dancing and singing to please his mentor, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, who was grieving over the death of his nephew. Khusro told his mentor that people here offer these flowers to gods on Basant Panchami, so he brought these flowers for his God.
That’s why the colour yellow, symbolising mustard flower, is beautifully used in the picturization of this song,” said Maheshwari in his video.
Even today, on every Basant Panchami, yellow flowers and Chadar are offered at Hazrat Nizamuddin’s shrine in Delhi.
Watch ‘Sakal Ban’ here: